Shoes and other articles



dinitul Estates JAMES R. 'SP%R, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA,

Letters Patent No. 92,220, dated July 6,1869; antedcted June 26, 1869.

IMPRGVED PRQCESS OP TREATING- CAST-IRON FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF 'HORSE SHOES AND OTHER ARTICLES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES R. SPEER, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Process for Making Malleable and Steel Horseshoes, &c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of said process.

The nature of my invention consists in treating melted pig-iron in the manner hereinafter described, and casting said metal into horseshocs, &c., and then placing said'cast articles between layers of a pulverized compound, composed of a vegetable carbon, a

vegetable and mineral alkali, and a hydrocarbon, and subjecting said casting, thus embedded, to heat.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it, and its application to the manufacture of malleable and steel horseshoes.

I treat melted pig-iron in the manner described in my applicationfor a patent for improveu'ient in the manufacture of pig-iron for making articles of malleable cast-iron and steel, which application is of even date with this application. I then take a line moulding-sand and thoroughly moisten it with lye, consisting of one pound of common potash to five gallons of water. The sand is then cut over (the meaning of which term is well understood by iron-moulders) until it is of the right o temper or condition for moulding.

I then, with suitable patterns of horseshoes, &c., and

flasks and their ordinary appendages, make moulds for the horseshoes, 85c.

The pig-iron, treated as hereinbefore stated, is melted in a suitable furnace, and is then poured into moulds, (that is ,to say, cast.) After the castings have become sufliciently' cold, they are removed from the sand, and cleaned by any of the known means, care being required in the cleaning-proccss, for the castings made ofthe metal, andcast in the'inouldingsand treated in the manner described, are very brittle and easily broken.

The aforesaid treatment of the pig-iron, and casting it in sand, tempered as herein described, changes the texture of the metal, giving it a white,.silver-like appearance, and giving the metal that condition or property which is most favorable to makinga good article of malleable iron or steel.

After the castings have been properly cleaned, they are placed in anhealing-chests, between layers of pulverized iron-ore mixed with one per cent. of common salt or its equivalent. The annealing-chests are then scaled up, and placed in a suitable oven or fur-- I nace, and subjected to a uniform heat from four to six days, after which the fire is withdrawn from the furnace, and the furnace and its contents allowed to gradually cool off, after which the annealing-chests a small vent-hole (say one inch in diameter) at the top of the chamber for: escape of gas. The furnace is then heated up so that the contents of the chamber shall be heated to a" dull red, and kept at this degree for from ten to fifteen hours. 'After the furnace T and its chamber have been heated up about one hour, the vent in the top of the chamber must be closed, so as to have the chamber air-tight. havcbcen subjected to the heat as stated for a sutlicicnt length of time, the furnace-chamber and its contents are allowed to cool off. After the contents ofthe chamber of the furnace are withdrawn, and the castings separated-from the charcoal, they are then cleaned and polished by any known means, such as rattling, water, and polishing-barrels.

Castings made in the manner, and treated and manipulated in the method hereinbefore described, will be, after being removed from the annealing chests, superior articles of malleable cast-iron; and afterbeirgtreated, being removed from the furnace chamber, they will be found to be articles of steel of a good quality.

I wish it clearly understood that I do not claim, broadly, converting articles of malleable iron into steel, for such impriwement has been made public by Christopher Siegerich Krcet't, in his application for Letters Patent in l lngland, May 17, 1856.

What I claim as of my invention, is-

The method hcreinbetbre described for making malleable cast-iron or steel horseshoes, &c.

1 JAMES It. SPEER.

Witnesses JAMES J. J onss'rox, AARON B. Care.

After the castings 

